Central Park by Kate Spain { Fat Quarter Shop Fridays Sponsored Post } WITH GIVEAWAY!!

I'm very excited today to share this weeks edition of Fat Quarter Shop Fridays with you all. One of the sweetest, most sincere people I have ever met is here to talk about her new line; releasing in January 2011 from Moda Fabrics.

Kate Spain is quickly becoming a household name, licensing her designs with corporations such as Target and Crate & Barrel. Her newest collection, Central Park is inspired by its namesake located in the heart of NYC.

She brings the beautiful details of this isolated piece of nature home to you, translated through her unique take on her surroundings. Please take a look as Kate explains her inspiration for this line:


A message from Kate: "Thank you so much for featuring me on your wonderful blog. I always enjoy popping by to read along, and am excited to share a little background about my new fabric line, Central Park, with your readers!"

RWQ: Tell us a little bit about yourself. How long have you been designing fabric? What is your design background?

I have been designing fabric for Moda for about a year and a half now, and love it! A little about my design background...I went to Rhode Island School of Design and graduated with a BFA in Graphic Design. After college, I designed children's books at Simon and Schuster Publishing in New York City. I worked on a variety of media-tie in books for Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Jim Henson Productions. From there, I shifted gears and worked for several companies who manufactured licensed character children's accessories like backpacks, handbags, watches, socks and flip flops. For a number of years, I designed and developed products for Hello Kitty that were mostly sold at Target.

In 2007 I worked really hard and put a portfolio of original art and patterns together and exhibited at Surtex in NY. Surtex is an industry trade show where manufacturers and buyers peruse art for use on their products. I was encouraged and excited to have such positive feedback at my first showing and from there, my licensing business really began to take off. I'm happiest when I'm doing something creative, and am so grateful that I get to wake up each day and do what I love.

RWQ: Where do you draw your inspiration from when designing in general?

Oh from so many places, really. My garden is a continuous source of inspiration because it's always changing from day to day and throughout the seasons. I'm always so amazed when I go out there and see something new and wonder how I ever missed it before! I love color and the way colors interact so sometimes I'm inspired to create designs around a certain palette. Other times, I may have a theme in-mind and my designs relate back to the theme. But then when my pencil hits the paper, the direction I thought I was headed in can often change significantly once a design or pattern starts to take shape. Letting go of expectations enough to explore and then being able to recognize when something is working and building on it, is the essence of the creative process and the part that I really love! Sometimes when I finally "finish" a design, I'll look at it and think, "Hmph, that's not at all what I had in mind, but i like it!" Other times, I'm amazed when the vision in my mind resembles what ends up on a piece of paper and I can hold it in my hands. I think there is inspiration all around us, but sometimes we just need to look a little more carefully to find it...which is what happened with me and Central Park.

RWQ: Is there anything you want to tell the readers about your inspiration for Central Park? Do you have a favorite print in the collection?

I was born in New York City, grew up in a suburb close-by and then later lived and worked in NYC. Central Park was a place to find some quiet and get away from the fast-pace of city life. It's also a much more scenic route to cut across town. Needless to say, I've probably walked through the Park hundreds of times. But in January of last year, I was waiting to meet my aunt and uncle to go to a show at a museum together. I had some time to kill and was right at Columbus Circle, where the main entrance to Central Park is located. So I decided to head into the Park for a brisk walk to pass the time. It was freezing cold, but the light was beautiful and for some reason, I started to notice things I had not seen. The carved stone reliefs, ironwork on bridges, decorative pillars, and cobblestone paths, all caught my eye and I couldn't help but see the beginnings of patterns...everywhere! I was so excited and inspired that once I settled on the color palette, this line just flowed. I did an "Inspiration Tour" on my blog where you can see the photos I took and how I translated them to patterns. The prints are named after different areas or landmarks of the Park: North Meadow, Trefoil (arch), Carousel, and of course the Central Park Zoo! If I had to pick one print that's my favorite, I think it would be 'Esplanade' in the yellow/orange colorway. I can remember exactly where I was when I saw the stone medallion that inspired this print, and how amazed I was that I had passed by it so many times and never even noticed it. The print connects me to that moment of awe.

RWQ: Do you license your designs for printing on other mediums besides fabric?

Yes. In addition to Moda, I work with about 10 companies who license my designs for various products that include ceramic tableware, paperware, gift wrap, kitchen textiles, and stationery. I've been really fortunate to have products featuring my designs at Crate & Barrel, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond, The Container Store, Barnes & Noble and many others. And I have some exciting new products coming out...soon!

RWQ: How can my readers find more information about your company?

You can always go to my website (www.katespain.com) to see what products are in the market, or to the "News and Updates" section where I post quick links to product sightings, or share news of upcoming events or new product releases. I also try to keep my blog (http://katespaindesigns.blogspot.com/) current with a mix of anecdotes from my studio, new product announcements, sneak peeks of things I'm working on, and of course...giveaways! I love connecting with people and am always thrilled when someone emails me a picture of something they're working on using my fabrics (and I'll email back!). I'm constantly surprised to see what people dream up. Sure I design the fabric, but when it gets into the hands of all the creativity and talent out there, it becomes something else and takes on a life of its own. When it comes back to me in its new form, it brings me such overwhelming joy to know that I was somehow able to pass along a little inspiration to someone else. I am so happy to be a part of this creative community.
Thanks for taking the time to talk with us today Kate! I just love the bright colors and mixture of architectural and floral designs combined in Central Park.

As I might have mentioned in previous posts this trip to Houston was my very first time at market. By the middle of the day, I was feeling pretty overwhelmed. When I stopped at Kate's booth I was fresh from Lizzie House's Cake Party upstairs (my only meal so far that day) and was having a hard time focusing on the booths.

Kate had a beautiful booth and I did speak with her for a few minutes as she showed my wife and I around. The first thing I saw when entering the booth was this gorgeous quilt against the back wall. The flying geese and intricate quilting really did a great job at showing the prints in this line off.



This other quilt was hanging right next to it. What does this remind you of? I see the NYC skyline overlooking Central Park!



This pillow was the subject of Kate's schoolhouse the day before market. Her eyes lit right up when she told us about it. She lifted up a little flap in the center of the pillow and underneath was an image of Hello Kitty! Kate explained that she once worked to market the brand.



These were the only pictures I took of her booth. I even forgot to ask her for a photo of all of us together. That's how out of it I was. There's always Spring Market though! :) Thanks for showing us around Kate!


Head on over to the Fat Quarter Shop, sponsor of this post, and sign up to be notified when Central Park becomes available for purchase.


GIVEAWAY!

Leave a comment on this post to enter for a chance to win a fat eighth (the front bundle in this photo) collection of the entire Central Park line. Be one of the first to quilt with this collection not due out until January 2011!


Only one entry per person, please. All duplicate entries will be deleted. I will draw a winner using the Random Number Generator on Friday, November 26, 2010!

I will announce the winner on Saturday 11/27. There will be no FQSF post on 11/26 due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

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Good luck!